What design was used in the Canli study?

The Canli study utilized a laboratory experiment with repeated measures design. This is significant because a laboratory experiment allows for a controlled environment in which researchers can manipulate variables and observe their effects on participants. In the context of the Canli study, this design was essential for investigating the relationship between emotional arousal and memory retention using an fMRI scanner.

The repeated measures aspect means that the same participants were exposed to multiple conditions or stimuli, which in this study involved viewing various emotional images and later being asked to recall them. This design is particularly effective in examining changes within subjects, as it reduces variability between participants since each serves as their own control. By utilizing repeated measures, the researchers could gain insight into how emotional stimuli directly impact memory, providing clearer data on the brain's activity response to those stimuli.

Other designs, such as matched pairs or cross-sectional designs, do not fit the study's methodology and aim as precisely. Matched pairs would involve different participants matched on certain characteristics, while a cross-sectional design would assess different groups at one point in time, neither of which aligns with the repeated measures approach that Canli employed.